the great linguist/philosopher george carlin



i posted this video before on occasion of carlin's death a couple of years ago. whether you agree or disagree with carlin's thesis on the existence of god it is without a doubt, at least my doubt, that george carlin was a great linguist and a damn fine thinker. philosophy, poetry and comedy are intimately related i think. i don't know if carlin wrote books like another comedian steve martin is writing books now. i imagine a system of aphorisms by carlin would be his modus operandi. why not. for carlin reminds me of a very hippy-ish, earthy rene char. char was a cosmic poet who was also deeply grounded in this life. the poet who was a friend of heidegger and survived the second world war as a leader of the french resistance knew, from what i gather from his poetry, a good joke when he heard it. he also relished a good meal and the company of friends, and that life is better lived thru the witness of words. i know very little about the lives of either char or carlin but i imagine that both laughed heartily and knew how to enjoy. as for carlin the dude knew his shit and knew how to express it in language. i don't mean to make a direct comparison between carlin and char, and i imagine both turning over in their graves at such a comparison -- poetry and comedy?! -- yet they both share a cosmic earthiness that is abundant in ironies and wonder. make of it what you will.